80-foot Ukiah cell tower OK'd with no light

With conditions, the Ukiah Planning Commission Wednesday approved the necessary permits to allow Verizon Wireless to build an 80-foot cell tower disguised as a redwood tree on Hastings Road.

"I would certainly not like to see a strobe light on top of (the tree)," said Planning Commission Chairwoman Judy Pruden, referring to the fact that the Federal Aviation Administration may require a flashing light on the tower due to its height.

"If it's a tree and suddenly there's a light on top of that, it defeats the purpose," said fellow Commission member Kevin Doble, and Commission member Mike Whetzel wondered why applicant Jay Gruendle had not filed paperwork with the FAA already.

"The form should have been in our hands already," Whetzel said. "At least we'd get an idea of the lighting before we approve it."

Senior Planner Kim Jordan said that would not have been possible as the FAA would not take action until the project was approved.

When the 57-foot cell tower at the electric substation on South Orchard Avenue was built, Jordan said paperwork was "filed with the FAA nine months before the (project) came before the commission, but they weren't going to respond until the project was approved."

The three commission members present (Linda Sanders and Jason Brenner were absent) felt so strongly about the light that they added a condition of approval of the permits that states if a light were required for an 80-foot tower, the tower could only be the maximum height at which a light would not be required.

When she asked the applicants to explain why they needed antennas at 80-feet rather than 50-feet, a representative said the new tower was in response to "numerous customer complaints" and a 50-foot tower would provide them only a 20-percent improvement in coverage while the 80-foot one would provide 30 percent.

"We're only gaining 10 percent for 30 feet," said Pruden. "Do we need to accommodate a business' needs or the community's?"

Ultimately, Pruden said she did not like the idea of an 80-foot tower, even disguised as a tree, but she could not "come up with sufficient findings to prohibit it. We have to be fair, not arbitrary.

"It's got to be the best looking tree you've ever built -- if not, we won't go this route again," she said. The commission agreed on a tree resembling a redwood, and also added the condition that the applicant return to the board with examples of what the tree will look like before receiving final approval.

It also added the condition that the "tree" be maintained so it doesn't get into disrepair, and that it be removed at the applicant's cost if it becomes obsolete.

The commission approved an 8-foot fence for the project, with modifications. The applicant requested a six-foot fence with two feet of barbed wire, but the commission would not allow barbed wire.

Whetzel also asked if the tower would include 4G technology, as he understood that could interfere with the GPS instruments in aircraft. A Verizon representative said the antennas will include 4G LTE, "but ours is a different frequency than GPS."

The commission then unanimously approved the permits for the project with several conditions and modifications.

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@pacific.net, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.